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Just because your car loan is poo poo doesn't mean you can't sell it for bitcoins.
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Nov 24, 2012 17:26
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Ignoring housechat (Do Never Build), how're your finances doing? It's been a few pages since we've seen some graphs. Also, what are three things you're going to do between now and the new year to be in a better financial position than you are now?
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Nov 24, 2012 23:43
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Higgy posted:Ignoring housechat (Do Never Build), how're your finances doing? It's been a few pages since we've seen some graphs. Well this weekend we made our food tracking a bit more granular since "groceries" are a bit too broad for me and doesn't really facilitate cutting down expenses from food. Now "Groceries" is any food purchase that doesn't fall into poultry, fish, meat, alternatives like beans, fresh produce, cereals, dairy, eggs, spices, and junk food (which is like, chocolates and poo poo that we shouldn't buy but do sometimes anyway). October had 602 in "groceries", partly because we lost some receipts from the beginning of the month before we split the bill, this month only has 109 because we saved all the receipts and we've bought most of the oils and vinegars and condiments that you only restock a few times a year.  This is October and November (so far)  This is just November. So yeah, increase in produce, decrease in total amount spent because we've been eating vegetarian three days a week. I'm also trying to apply Early Retirement Extreme guy's idea of buying only things that come in ten pound bags (and frozen veggies), but toeshoes is keeping me from going full rice, beans, carrots, potatoes, and onions. I can't post a monthly update yet because we don't get paid for another six days.
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Nov 25, 2012 00:38
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tuyop posted:Well this weekend we made our food tracking a bit more granular since "groceries" are a bit too broad for me and doesn't really facilitate cutting down expenses from food. Just to make sure I read this right, but between two people, you've spent $600 on food?
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Nov 25, 2012 01:41
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cstine posted:Just to make sure I read this right, but between two people, you've spent $600 on food? My husband and I probably spend about that on groceries... When you buy lots of fresh produce every week and not a lot of processed foods it isn't hard to do.
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Nov 25, 2012 01:50
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Yeah, I think you Americans have cheaper prices than Canadians on a lot of grocery things, too. My husband and I probably spend around $600 on groceries each month, buying the same as tuyop: fresh produce, meats, dairy, etc and staying out of the aisles as much as possible.
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Nov 25, 2012 01:58
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cstine posted:Just to make sure I read this right, but between two people, you've spent $600 on food? No, 506 this month, 1536 since October 1st. Including Restaurants, coffee shops, and sweets, which aren't really groceries but actually entertainment. So, 150 this month on entertainment, which happened to be food, means that we've actually spent 356 on raw food that had to be prepared between the two of us. We need to improve this, for sure.
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Nov 25, 2012 02:00
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tuyop posted:No, 506 this month, 1536 since October 1st. Including Restaurants, coffee shops, and sweets, which aren't really groceries but actually entertainment. Oh it wasn't a comment on how much was being spent; I just wanted to make sure I was actually understanding what I was looking at.
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Nov 25, 2012 02:17
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What was the $40 Junk Food category actually spent on, item by item?
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Nov 25, 2012 05:57
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Dr.Spaceman posted:What was the $40 Junk Food category actually spent on, item by item? 3 on a package of brownies that we baked, 15 on chocolate and mints and poo poo, 12 on frozen pizzas, 10 on ice cream, roughly.
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Nov 25, 2012 15:10
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I got my disability cheque from Veteran's Affairs: "1644.99+" Now, I'm going to call them tomorrow because I'm not sure what this money is for, if it's the sum total payout for my injury (which I'll challenge if so), if it's some kind of monthly amount, or what. This is apparently a normal thing that they do, and usually you have to challenge your first settlement amount.
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Nov 25, 2012 20:10
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tuyop posted:I got my disability cheque from Veteran's Affairs: "1644.99+" Update: yup, that's all they want to give me. Good news is that I can cash this cheque! The next step is to wait for a letter that will tell me why they're giving me this amount, read their justification and the recourse procedures, begin the recourse procedures and write a letter defending myself. I may also want to get a lawyer depending on how the recourse goes. OR, I could do nothing and wait for my back to get worse, then get reassessed and get more money later. Challenging their decision now does not mean that I can't get reassessed later.
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Nov 26, 2012 17:22
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tuyop posted:Challenging their decision now does not mean that I can't get reassessed later. So challenge the poo poo out of it. Get a lawyer and everything. That's a pretty pitiful amount, seriously.
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Nov 26, 2012 18:33
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So wait - you got injured in a way that's causing you chronic pain and possibly life-long back issues and they're offering you $1600?
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Nov 26, 2012 22:36
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You see, he was injured so badly that his only options are biking 16 miles to work while farming and building a house by hand.
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Nov 26, 2012 22:43
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Is that 1600 every two weeks?
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Nov 26, 2012 22:46
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Baloogan posted:Is that 1600 every two weeks? No, $1600 ever. That's the single lump sum payment.
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Nov 26, 2012 22:47
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You should honestly get enough money to get out of debt with this settlement. Do not let them gently caress you. You were injured on the job and can no longer work.
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Nov 27, 2012 00:15
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Always dispute settlements especially as it's so low. Remember to include your lifelong costs such as medication, specialist help and damage to your everyday life from the chronic pain.MrKatharsis posted:You see, he was injured so badly that his only options are biking 16 miles to work while farming and building a house by hand. It's a hard life having a permanent disabling physical injury.
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Nov 27, 2012 00:15
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Don't let the green weenie strike again.
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Nov 27, 2012 00:41
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MrKatharsis posted:You see, he was injured so badly that his only options are biking 16 miles to work while farming and building a house by hand. Yeah, it's just pain, man. It's not hard to do what you want to do even though it hurts. The worst part is the lack of sleep because my back hurts, or when I sneeze/cough/laugh and tear something in my back and have to take pills that turn me into a sleepy retard for awhile. But the day to day isn't that bad, just wince and get through the muscle spasms. But yeah, there's a shitload of ways to challenge, then appeal that challenge, then appeal the appeal. And like I said, it can always get reassessed later. They're already covering my medication, and minor home repairs and snow removal and stuff that I might not be able to do. It's just another waiting game to see if I'm going to get more money.
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Nov 27, 2012 01:04
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tuyop posted:Yeah, it's just pain, man. It's not hard to do what you want to do even though it hurts. The worst part is the lack of sleep because my back hurts, or when I sneeze/cough/laugh and tear something in my back and have to take pills that turn me into a sleepy retard for awhile. But the day to day isn't that bad, just wince and get through the muscle spasms. Back pain is no loving joke, man. It'll exclude you from lots of jobs that otherwise pay really well, and it will get worse as you get older. I'm glad you'll be challenging because that sum is a loving insult.
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Nov 27, 2012 01:09
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Quantum Finger posted:Back pain is no loving joke, man. It'll exclude you from lots of jobs that otherwise pay really well, and it will get worse as you get older. I'm glad you'll be challenging because that sum is a loving insult. Yeah, you can basically forget about anything blue collar, child care, stocking... Heck, even some IT jobs, I'd assume they have to move heavy poo poo once in a while. It's really great that you seem to have such a positive about it, but it's kind of a big deal.
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Nov 27, 2012 01:40
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More fun with VA. There's a clerk in my office who put in a claim for carpal tunnel that she got from playing piano in university 29 years ago. I saw her letter today. The army gave her 1/5 entitlement, which means that her award is 20% of whatever disability value they give her. She got a 24% disability value. Her disability award is $29 000. I don't understand.  I got the letter explaining my payout today, which gave me a 2% disability value at 5/5 entitlement for my disability award of 1644.99. Then I called the appeal people. One of their lawyers reviewed my case and explained that disability awards for my condition don't include consideration for chronic pain or impaired limb use, since it's a mid-back injury. Lower back injuries pay out around 30% for pain but mid-back doesn't have extra consideration for pain in the table so they can't give any award for it. Also, the disability payout is tiered in a non-transparent way so that if you have a <5% result you get next to no money, but >5% gives you lots of money. Nobody can show me a reference for this, as usual, but I'm only part way through the 418-page document explaining this process so we'll see. The only option is to talk to a doctor and have my diagnosis or file changed somehow so that my claim can be amended to include pain and limb use issues, then the reassessment has to be done all over again. I mean really, it's a very small amount of effort for a potentially large amount of money that will make a big difference in my life, but it's making me loving furious and upsetting my tranquility hardcore. Edit: And I called my doctor and got scheduled in for Friday because someone cancelled, so then we'll see what can be done. I'll be finished the research by then. I'm equipped with flags and highlighters and too much free time. tuyop fucked around with this message at 01:08 on Nov 29, 2012 |
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Nov 29, 2012 00:23
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I'm pretty sure bureaucracy is designed to make you want to kill yourself. Sorry you have to go through that, it definitely sucks and you absolutely deserve more than $1700.
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Nov 29, 2012 00:32
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The silver lining here is that if you're only <5% disabled, then that means you should be able to built a yurt that's 95%+ as good as any other man's yurt!
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Nov 29, 2012 00:59
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Good call, tuyop.
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Nov 29, 2012 01:04
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HookShot posted:I'm pretty sure bureaucracy is designed to make you want to kill yourself. I just don't understand the math of it, on the most basic level. The equation they use is: Entitlement * Disability Value = Disability Award Disability Award/Maximum Disability Payout = Disability Award Payout The Maximum Disability Payout = 293 308.42 So: Me: 5/5 * .02 = .02 .02 * 293 308.42 = 5866.17 But I got 1644.99???  Clerk: 1/5 * .24 = .048 .048* 293 308.42 = 14 078.80 But she gets 29 000???? I don't get it! Also, why would they give someone with 4.8% nearly twenty times the payout as someone with 2%? This isn't making sense to me! Double? Edit: And I called my doctor and got scheduled in for Friday because someone cancelled, so then we'll see what can be done. I'll be finished the research by then. I'm equipped with flags and highlighters and too much free time. tuyop fucked around with this message at 01:09 on Nov 29, 2012 |
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Nov 29, 2012 01:06
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HookShot posted:I'm pretty sure bureaucracy is designed to make you want to kill yourself. I am pretty sure that more than one medical insurance company* has deliberate policies to stall claims for life-saving operations on the grounds that if they can drag it out long enough, the patient dies and they don't have to pay for an expensive operation. (well, it was the plot of an early CSI, but I am sure I read it for real elsewhere) EDIT: and so some bureaucracy is deliberatly unhelpful on the grounds that some people will lose the will to fight it, and so save them money. Don't give in to them.
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Nov 29, 2012 10:10
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I'm sorry to hear about the niggardly payout you've been given. It seems to be fairly consistent with the luck you've been having for the length of this thread. I hope you haven't been spending money assuming that this payout would be much bigger than it is.
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Nov 29, 2012 12:37
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Keep fighting that disability payout, but don't be too concerned with future finances at the moment. Once you're released, VAC will start your Earnings Loss Benefit which is at least $40 000 a year or 75% of your salary at release. I remember you saying you'd be on the vocational rehab program so you'll be getting that money as long as you are on the rehab program and during that time VAC will assess a pension. By all means get as much documentation as you can because it will greatly help you now and in the future when dealing with VAC. Just a heads-up from what my counselor said as well was that the medical and vocational rehab lasts until you either find full-time permanent employment, turn 65, or don't follow through with scheduled appointments or check-in with your counselor and they cut you off.
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Nov 29, 2012 16:44
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Yeah, that's a very good point. I'm also not very worried about it. I figure that the most I can expect is like 30k, and six months income is simply not a life-changing figure for me aside from getting me out of debt sooner, so whatever. The doctor rescheduled my appointment (of course), so I have no more news.
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Dec 1, 2012 16:53
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Tuyop I've been following this thread for a while, and I may have lost track, but what's your long-term plan? Let's say that in the next 6 months your disability pay wipes out your debt and you're released from the army. You're a private citizen with a little bit of money to your name and no obligations. What's your plan to move on from there with finances and life? I know you'd like to teach, but have you started looking at what qualifications you'd need and schools that you might want to attend to do that?
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Dec 1, 2012 16:59
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 November UpdateSo, first month where toeshoes and I have combined our finances, we also got income tax returns and a small disability payout that totally rebuilt our savings and buffers.  This is kind of weird, but you can see that we consolidated all of toeshoes' debt and my Visa onto a low(er) interest line of credit. And that total line is going down, with savings rising sharply.  The tax and disability payment income are obvious in the net income graph.  As usual, the car ate all of our money. "Shopping" is toeshoes' cigarettes (quitting didn't last long), and some clothes that we bought, and shipping for selling some old games on ebay as part of our decluttering, which is going really well! Next month is Christmas, and we already bought a breast pump (150 for our share) for the sister in law, who just had a baby girl (yeah I guess I'm an uncle now!), so we've got like 500 more in presents to spend between us, I think, and about 400 in travel expenses to get back to NS. Given those expenses, I'm expecting that total line to go down fairly sharply to the tune of 2000 or so in December, then we can see about breaking 3k in January.
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Dec 1, 2012 17:04
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Dongue Quixote posted:Tuyop I've been following this thread for a while, and I may have lost track, but what's your long-term plan? The answer is "sort of". Whenever I get to checking out schools, I need to answer the "where" and "when" questions, and I can't right now, so it kind of goes nowhere. The encouraging thing is that my teachables are all in order, I have a good GPA (3.87), and solid references, so there shouldn't be anything stopping me from getting in when it's time. Financially, I like the sound of saving up enough to become financially independent, and basically retiring as soon as possible. I want to start/join an intentional community somewhere and teach on my own flexible terms and try out homesteading. But that's just a dream at this point.
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Dec 1, 2012 17:10
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You didn't cash in that check, did you?
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Dec 1, 2012 17:22
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quaint bucket posted:You didn't cash in that check, did you? Yes, the VA people and the claim lawyers both told me that I could.
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Dec 1, 2012 17:43
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tuyop posted:Yes, the VA people and the claim lawyers both told me that I could. Cool. Did you get it in writing?
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Dec 1, 2012 18:14
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 It's nice that you have a lot of trust in others but it's really in your best interest to get these kind of things in writing especially when a dispute is currently in effect. They may have been under the impression that you can without any problems but it is also possible that they can be mistaken and will deny it if things do go to poo poo as a result of misinformation. If you did get it in writing then disregard the above post and accept a "well done!" from me.
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Dec 1, 2012 19:16
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El_Elegante posted:Cool. Did you get it in writing? No, I didn't. The letter I got says, explicitly, that receiving your current award doesn't reflect on any claims you make in the future. Even if you disagree, it doesn't matter if you take the money.
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Dec 1, 2012 19:29
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